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Emma smiles. "Whatever somebody let her get away with."

That makes me laugh softly.

"Now that sounds like Lily."

"She helped with events, meals, organizing things. Sometimes she just showed up and found something that needed doing."

"Even with her condition?"

"Especially then, sometimes." Emma's smile turns fond. "We had to remind her that volunteering wasn't supposed to land her in my clinic."

"She hated being told to slow down."

"I noticed."

Betty leans against the counter.

"She became part of the place."

Something tightens in my chest. Not painfully. Not exactly.

"And Noah?"

Emma laughs.

"Oh, Noah considered himself staff."

I smile.

"He did?"

"He helped feed the animals. Filled water bowls. Brushed the dogs. Occasionally assisted with baths."

"Assisted?"

Emma gives me a look. "His definition."

Betty laughs.

"He came in here once soaked from head to toe."

"The dog won," Emma says.

I can picture it so clearly that I laugh again.

"He never told me any of this."

"He probably assumed you knew," Betty says gently.

I look down at my coffee. Maybe he did. Or maybe I never asked the right questions. I knew Lily volunteered. I knew Noah went with her. But knowing the facts and knowing someone's life aren't always the same thing.

"What is the farm like now?"

Emma considers the question.

"It's hard to explain without seeing it."

"Then give me the short version."